11 



dation season, are termed ' Bood/ts,' whilst ' Lhunds' will be alluded to 

 in Sinde. Besides these rivers and streams large irrigation works are 

 being or have been constructed in the province. 



2. Of the people of the Panjab, but few comparatively are abso- 



_ , .. . ,, t, ■ x. lutely prohibited by their religion from con- 

 Population of the Panjab j ■ n i imi j_i tt- i 

 those in towns or in hills great- suming fish ; still there are many Hindus, 



er consumers of fish than those particularly large zemindars, who have scruples 

 in rural districts. on th e subject, and these re-act upon the 



general rural population (always more superstitious than an urban one, 

 and therefore more amenable to priestly craft), especially those depend- 

 ant on and living around them. Thus the ' Deputy Commissioner of 

 Delhi'' observed (1870) of the people of the district, "none of the Hindu 

 zemindars eat fish, whilst the Mahomedans are very much Hinduised in 

 their habits. Hindu zemindars object on religious grounds to fish being 

 caught in their village waters, and hotly contend with any Delhi fish- 

 ermen caught poaching in their village ponds/' But of those residing 

 in towns and in the hilly districts, it appears as if, excluding the Brah- 

 mins, the consumption of fish is only limited by the paucity of the 

 supply and the cost of the article. 



3. In 1869-70 an enquiry was made into the fisheries of this pro- 



vince, as to whether a wasteful destruction of 

 Enquiry in 1869-70 as to fig]l was taking place, and, if so, the best 



whether a wasteful destruction . -.. .°. f e • ■ r 



of fish existed. Prohibition of means to diminish any causes of injury tor 

 fixed engines, and the damming the future. The various reports gave the 

 of hill streams. Introduction i m p re ssion that a large amount of immature 



chiLfnTs? system for nets ' fish were y earl y killed for food before the y 



had been permitted to attain a fair size ; and 

 that this destruction was in many places being effected in Government 

 waters, which had, or had not, been leased out for fishing purposes : con- 

 sequently action was taken on the matter. In the Kangra valley the 

 system of catching fish by means of dams, weirs, and stake-nets w T as 

 prohibited, as being the chief cause of the destruction and diminution of 

 the fish in the narrow hill streams, whilst throughout the Panjab a license 

 for nets was ordered to be introduced gradually into localities where no 

 revenue was derived from fisheries ; the only description of net sanctioned 

 being that which could be thrown from or held in the hand, the meshes of 

 which were not less than 1^ inches between knot and knot, or 5 inches 

 all round. The license tax was proposed at Ks. 5 yearly for large nets, 

 and Rs. 2 for small ' Chilwa' nets (see para. 13), but a discretion was 

 left as to the amount with the local civil authorities. It was remarked 

 that ' Chilwa' nets were not approved of, as such might be employed in 

 taking the young of large fish. The license empowers the holder to fish 

 generally, whether in Government waters or on private estates. For 

 fishing in Government waters no further fee would be payable, but to 

 enable him to fish on private estates, the holder would have to make his 

 own arrangement with the landowner. By this plan, every person who 

 professed to fish would require to hold a license. The license could only 

 extend to fishing by net, and some officials insert in it the 

 minimum size of the mesh that may be used ; others have the. nets 

 brought to be inspected at the time the license is issued. 



